The Guru is not the Person/Sw. Satchidananda

[Guest guest]

The late Sri Swami Satchidananda wrote: 

   

What is a Guru? 

 

by H. H. Sri Swami Satchidananda

 

A Guru is a stitta pragnyam, one

of steady wisdom—one who transcends

the body and the mind. The one you

call the Guru is the Self. It is

the Self that can have equanimity.

It is that Divine within, the God

within; the Guru is not the man or

woman—remember that. When you see

somebody and say that they are a

"Guru," you don't mean that person

—the physical body or the intelligence.

You mean that Self.

 

"Gu" means darkness. "Ru" means

remover—the one who removes your

ignorance. You are ignorant of

your Guru within. He or she just

removes that ignorance so that you

can see your own Guru within. The

Guru is simply one who reflects

your original condition, your inner

Guru. The external Guru's duty is

to show your own Guru within. That

way, you won't need to depend on

the external Guru.

 

You are that Guru; you are that

Self, in truth. In reality, every

one of you is a Guru. However,

some people seem to know it; others

don't. Sometimes the children seem

to know it more. A little boy came

up to me and said, "I'm God. Do

you know that?" Children seem to

know. And that's why they have

that divine face. Somehow, we

seem to have lost it. We all had

that knowledge when we were born

.. Once you realize that, you will

be possessed by beautiful qualities.

Nothing can shake you. Until and unless

that happens, nothing else can save

you. Let us know this first.

 

The external Guru is to point out the

Guru within you. It's almost like a

mirror showing your face. The mirror

doesn't have a face of its own. It

simply reflects your face. Isn't it

true that no one has seen his or her

own face? Have you ever seen your

face? Do you know for sure that you

have a face? How do you know? Have

you seen it? Yes, in the mirror.

But, in the mirror what you see

isn't really your face. What you

see in the mirror is the

reflection.

 

The Guru should not think that he

or she is a Guru. But, the disciple

should think of himself or herself

as a disciple. It is the disciple

 

that makes the Guru. When you see

something beautiful in someone and

when you want to learn from that

person, then he or she becomes your

teacher. The person should not come

and say, "Hey, I am your teacher;

learn from me." No genuine teacher

will ever say that. If asked the

question, "Are you my teacher?"

they would say, "Well, I don't know.

You should know that. If you are

learning something from me, maybe

I am your teacher then. If you are

not learning anything, then I am

not your teacher." As long as the

disciple wants to learn, it's fine.

If the disciple feels, "I am not

really satisfied with this teaching;

I would like to go to someone else,"

then, fine; go. There is no bond. A

teacher, a Guru, is there not to bind

the disciple, but to free the disciple.

 

In reality, the Guru is not the

person. The Guru is the omnipresent

consciousness which pervades

everything and which guides the

entire universe constantly. But

because the Guru is within you,

and you have never seen it, you

want to see it with a reflection.

It is there where the external

Guru, or the teaching, comes in.

Actually, the Guru is the teaching.

The teacher may not always be

present, but the teaching will

always be there. The teaching

is the Guru. With the help of

the teaching, you will realize

your own Guru within. And that

Guru constantly guides you in

all your efforts in life

 

 

 

 

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